Dominique Dawes - 1996 Olympics Team Optionals - Floor Exercise

[PhenixJoe]

Oh how I miss whip backs.

[toetouching]

Khorkina on beam in the back!! :)

[sixtypixies]

Great energy! Is that Svetlana K. on the beam behind her?

[Nike5221]

@sixtypixies yes

[caillinnumberonefan]

amazingly entertaining hahahaha

[Katelinanator]

Weell at least she was still good....loock at other gymnasts these days.....

[jebbus10]

My favorite gymnast

[MissScarlett27]

She's just incredible here. I was in gymnastics around this time, just a few years younger but couldn't get past level 5. Mostly because I was a mental wimp. People forget that while gymnastics requires incredible physical athleticism, it requires more incredible mental stamina. Kudos to all elite gymnasts!

[jebbus10]

@MissScarlett27 Me too I just couldn't get my mind wrapped around doing a back walkover in the beam my fear got the best of me. I regret it.

[LCAmarkymark]

I just think its crazy how the scoring will never be accurate.

[erin592]

I love the timing of her first tumbling pass to the music! I think that she did it best in this specific routine. The other routines in these games were close, but none of them timed the first pass quite as well as this. She was my favorite back then!

[skaterkid1001]

its weird how when every person is about to run, they lean forward and then start

[carschup]

few more inches in that last landing and she was off the edge... but fortunately she handled it well...

[Chutson353]

Her 2x layout always amazes me - its like she's a bird in flight - effortless.

[goodmusiclover]

Girlly is a beast! I wish there were more Olympic gymnasts like her.

[spiderman5402]

shes soooo hot

[spiderman5402]

hses sooooo hot

[TwisterFlipp95]

she always came really close to going out of bounds on her last pass but great routine :D

[markedexclusive]

I always loved her full twisting double pike.

[LMA629]

LOVE her second tumbling pass :)

[LaGinnasta]

@LMA629 Love it too =)

[JohnPhilipSousa519]

Who's that gymnast in the background? Is it Khorkina?

[yngtxtopbear]

Yes. When Dawes took the floor the Russians knew it was the beginning of the end for their team gold here.

Even with the crowds screaming though, I doubt Russia would have been able to pull it off. They struggled through out the week and where in tears during the morning leading up to the team finals.

They knew that USA and Romania would have to have major meltdowns for them to win gold.

I am shocked they actually won silver, they were just .2 ahead of Romania at the end there.

[JohnPhilipSousa519]

It certainly seems that there are periods where one particular country dominates. From the 50s to the 80s it was USSR. In 84, it was the US. Then it was the USSR. In the early 90s, it seemed to be the US, with Zmeskal, Miller, Dawes, Okino, Strug and more. After the 96 Olympics, it was Romania, for the Russian team, except Khorkina, had fallen apart. After the 2000 Olympics, it seems that the US pulled itself together, with Patterson, Kupets, Postell, Nastia, Alicia, Chellsie, and Shawn.

[yngtxtopbear]

It is all peaks and valleys when it comes to this sport.

I really do not think that China will be able to win the worlds or defend the gold in 2012, but you never can tell in this sport. That is not to belittle what China has done, I just think that the Beijing games, gave alot of their girls and coaches something to work towards. Without that focus and goal, I do not think the next four years will be as prosperous for China in women's gymnastics. Then again, I love to be proved wrong about

[JohnPhilipSousa519]

I completely agree. The Chinese put their best team forward. On the team final they did fantastic, but on the event finals they seemed to fall apart. They are not very strong in terms of all around athletes, but the US excels at producing very good ones. Just look at Carly, Chellsie, Nastia, Jana, and Shawn. I do think that being in one's native country influence the team, like in 2003 Anaheim. The US won gold. Kim won in 1991 in Indianapolis. I hope that the US continues to do well.

[vivelagym]

@JohnPhilipSousa519 yes it is her

[icarrus4u]

Si.

[Halosniper128]

how was that good??? She did great on the runs but she only did like 3 or 4.

[dmann3g]

In case u haven't noticed, in that quad, everyone did 3 or 4. I swear most of these comments must be from 12 yr old kids. Go study for math class or sumthing, becus so many of u have no idea what ur talking about.

[dcumr]

If only this was her AA performance... She WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD in 94,93 and in 96

[raichmaneuvers]

@dcumr a huge NO. The best in the World in 93 was Miller by far. In 94 it was really Milosovici, she just didnt hit her best in the AA at Worlds. In 96 it was Lilia or Mo. Dawes was never the best.

[Mikizzle15]

@raichmaneuvers Oh so Lavinia did not hit her best and still be considered the best. and yet Dawes, who also didn't hit her best, is not considered the best?! Talk about a double edged sword. Dawes WAS the best in the world in '93. She took a risk with that vault when no one else was really performing that vault yet. She was better than Miller, plus Dom was underscored on floor in the '93 worlds. How is it that Miller got gold on floor and Dom didn't even qualify?? Exactly.

[raichmaneuvers]

@Mikizzle15 in 1993 Miller was better than Dawes on every event. You forget the only reason Dawes was in contention to win the AA was Miller made a HUGE mistake on beam and only scored a 9.625 vs the 9.875 she normally gets. And yet Miller even with that huge mistake scored so high on the other events that even with doing only a 9.8 value vault Dawes felt she had to try a 10 start value vault to have any shot of staying ahead. If both had hit all their events Miller crushes Dawes that year.

[Mikizzle15]

@raichmaneuvers Oh well, I guess we are all entitled to our opinions. I think Miller was the best in '92. But thought that Dawes was better in '93 minus those vaults, and in late '94 during Nationals and the World Team Championships.

[raichmaneuvers]

@Mikizzle15 well I am not a Miller fan and always found her overrated and overscored anyway, especialy on floor. How on earth she won the 93 World title and a 92 Olympic medal on floor is beyond me, she shouldnt have even been 1 of the top 2 Americans in finals either time I felt. Still based on the judges scored pretty much everything at the 93 Worlds was Miller's to win or lose is my point. 94 Milo and Dawes both had potential to beat her for sure but they just didnt deliver totally.

[dmann3g]

@raichmaneuvers - While I think Miller was overrated and peaked during a 'revamping' time in gym, I think she deserved the 93 FX title. Now 92, that was Dawes n Zmeskal, but once again, we had the compulsories being included in who was the 'best' on every event. How does 1 logic that a gymn who looked 'pretty' in her comps vault but does a dbl front tuck in optionals deserve to be in EF, over her teammate who took a hop on a yurch 1.5?? Comps shouldnt have counted for EF's..

[raichmaneuvers]

@dmann3g Miller shouldnt have even been in floor finals in 93. Dawes and Strug should have both beaten her out for the sports this year. And yes I agree Kim and Dominique should have been the 2 finalists in 92 instead of Miller. Using compulsories for anything other than team scoring itself by 1992 was stupid. Miller's floor medal in 92 was one of the luckiest considering there are 10 women or more who can score higher than 9.912 which was her highest score of any round of the Games.

[dmann3g]

@raichmaneuvers While I agree that Miller was the best in 93, Dawes had 94 locked down. Milo's beam was weak and Dawes' bars were weak, but if they both hit, Dom had it. Miller had the clout and the consistency to shut them both down, however. But in 95 and 96, it was Mo, Lilia, Dawes, and maybe Khorkina who really had the goods. It just depended on who hit...

[raichmaneuvers]

@dmann3g I diagree on 94. I think if they all had hit Milo would have won. Just look at the World Team Championships in 94. Milo and Dawes both hit all their routines cold and Milo won the individual scoring. And Milo's so called "weak" beam got a 9.900 at that event. Miller would have been no better than 3rd that year with everyone hitting.

Khorkina was a threat in 95 but not in 96. Her vaulting and floor sucked too much to give her a shot . Amanar was a much bigger threat in 96.

[dmann3g]

@raichmaneuvers And we all know about the romanian bonus of that quad. Milo could have fallen on her face during that weak ass beam routine and she prob would have gotten a 9.4. She was always overscored. Just check out youtube..

[raichmaneuvers]

@dmann3g Milo's beam work was much better in 94 than other years. Alot more fluid, throwing all the big tricks she has in the same routine for the only time (the Milo mount, the 4 tumbling pass, the side sumi), and alot more stable and clean than usual. If she could have hit without the mistakes it was quite good actually. Her bars was also better this year than other years. If she had the routines she did at the 94 Team Worlds she would have been unbeatable in the 94 AA.

[raichmaneuvers]

Honestly the only times I thought Milo was overscored was in 95 and 96 when she was past her prime. From 91-93 she was a consistent gymnast who capatilized on others mistakes for her bars and beam medals, was a threat in the AA, and was very strong on vault and floor. At the 92 Olympics Onodi was ridiculously underscored on both vault and floor for being from a tiny country, rather than Milo overscored.

[LCAmarkymark]

@dmann3g All Khorkina had to do was hit her bars routine and she would have been in medal contention. I believe she was underscored on her beam routine in the all around and underscored on vault as well

[LCAmarkymark]

@dcumr yes she was amazing here..the all around was so crazy here and in 2000

[efromansh]

Absolutely amazing!

[dcumr]

flawless

[dAnThEmAn178987]

love it! she really was such a great gymnast! ur so rite, if only this was her routine from all around, things would be so different ppl would tryto bethe next dominique dawes